Indian cricket team maestro Virat Kohli showcased his prowess in the challenging conditions of South Africa during the recent two-match Test series. Kohli notched impressive scores of 38 and 76 in Centurion and played a crucial role with a match-winning 46 in the series decider at Cape Town.
Despite the Test series ending in a 1-1 draw, Kohli emerged as the highest run-scorer for India, accumulating a total of 172 runs. Sanjay Manjrekar, the former cricketer turned commentator, praised Kohli for his exceptional performance in the challenging South African conditions.
Manjrekar emphasized the significant gap between Kohli and the next-best batter in the current Indian lineup, at least until Rishabh Pant returns to the side.
“Thank God that India have Virat Kohli. He showed on this SA tour, the kind of challenges that batters face that there’s a big distance between him and the next best Test batter in India at least until Rishabh Pant is back,” Manjrekar said.
Expressing gratitude for having Virat Kohli in the team, Manjrekar highlighted the challenges faced by batters in South Africa, underscoring the substantial difference in Test batting quality within the Indian squad.
Shortly after the South Africa tour, Virat Kohli was included in the 16-player squad for India’s upcoming home T20I series against Afghanistan. This marks Kohli’s return to India’s T20I setup, having last played during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
The T20I series against Afghanistan is scheduled to commence on January 11 at Mohali’s IS Bindra Stadium, serving as India’s final set of T20I matches before the T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
